Car roof



may 22, 1923. 1,455,776

C. D. BONSAI-L Filati Fab. 2'? 1922 U I) 0 U0 Parenteel May 2.2, i923.

CHARLES DAVID BONSALL, OF IPXTTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA., ASSIGNOR TO P.' H. IVIURPHY COMPANY, OF 'I/IENSINGTON, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

CAR ROOF.

Application filed February 27, 1922. Serial No. 539,710. i

T 0 @ZZ w 7mm it may concern Be it known that I, CHARLES DAVID Bor.- sALL,-a citizen of the United States, and a resident oi' the city of Pittsburgh, inthe county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Car Roofs, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to carroo'fs of the type wherein the rooting sheets extend from side plate to side plate of the car and are riveted thereto and to each other to form a rigid load sustaining structure.

Heretofore the side marginal portions o'i such sheets have been formed into ribs designed to act after the manner of car lines to increasel the load carrying capacity of `the roof and serve as frame members to brace and stiften the car-body; but such designs havey usually been developed with a view to adapting each rib to take care ot the same stresses in the same way as the other ribs., so that such designs would vary in accordance with the importance that the designer assigned tothe various stresses that wereexpected to act thereon in practical use.

' The principal object of the present invention is to produce a roof that will be stiffer and stronger' than previous rooings of the same weight of metal; and the invention consists principally in forming the ribs in two or more types arranged alternately and separate-ly designed to better lit them for ta ring care of contemplated stresses. The iuvention also consists in the parts and the arrangements and combinations lof parts hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing, whereinv like symbols refe-r to like numbers wherever they occur,

Fig. l is a plan view of a portion of a car roof kembodying my invention; l

Fig. 2 is an enlarged transverse section through one half of the roof' on the line 2-2 in Fig, l; Y

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section along the ridge line of the root on the line 3-3 in Fig. l;

Fig. 4 is similar section midway ofthe ridge and eaves on the line M in Fig. l; and

Fig. 5 is a similar section adjacent to the side plate on the line 5-5 in Fig. l.

The present roo'f comprises heavy gage roo'l:` sheets 6 that extend from side plate 'T to side plate 7 of the car and are suitably secured thereto by rivets 8. The side margin of each sheet is pressed up and riveted to a similar margin of the next adjacent sheet to form hollow ribs that extend lfrom side plate to side plate. rIhe hollow ribsl areoi" two types, the ribs ot one type alter.- nating with those of the other type and the ribs of both types varying in width from ridge to eaves. The ribs of the type A have a lminimum width at the ridge and widen gradually tothe eaves; lwhereas the ribs of type B are widest at the ridge and gradually decrease in width to the eaves. As illus'- trated in the accompanying drawing, the

ribs of both types areoi` uniform depth fromr ridge toy points adjacent to the eaves where they merge abruptlyinto the plane ot the roof; but, if desired, the depth of said ribs may be gradually decreased from ridge to eaves. l

One side marginal portion of each rooi2 sheet is pressed up preferably in the form ota seam flange 9 oi' substantially inverted L-shaped section; that is, said marginal portion has a nearly vertical web portion at the top of which is a horizontal flange. The other iside marginal portion of said sheet is pressed up preferably in the form of a seam flange l() of inverted channel shaped section; that .is7 it comprises a nearly vertical kweb portion, a horizontal portion that forms the top of the rib and a downward portion that forms the side of the rib. The L-shaped iiange 9 at vone side margin of each sheet widens from ridge to eaves and the channel shaped ilange l() at the opposite side margin of said sheet decreases in width from ridge to eaves.

lThe roof sheets are provided at their' eaves ends with depending drip angesll,

which overhang the outer edges of the side plates 7 and the seam flanges 9 and l0 of said sheets are curved kdownwardly near their eaves ends and merge into the plane of the body of the sheets at points where the eaves flanges 1l are turned downwardly. The reverse taper of the seam iianges 9 and l0 at the side margins of the sheets permits the use of a sheet blank having parallel sides, thereby eliminating the expense of shearing` the sheet to: a special shape before pressing; and the horizontal flanges lQyand y Cb y i3 that appear iii the eaves sections o f said CriA ,sie

Cil

`'ends of said l'langes.

Y* shaped flange l() at the opposite margin of said'V sheet is also turned outwardly in the plane of said sheet to' forni the lateral vflange 13.

'lie sheets are assembled by nipping` the L-shaped flange 9 of one sheet over the corresponding tapered' cliannel-shaped vl oit an adjacent sheet, thereby loriningj a il a n ege rootl having' a series of type A ribswhi0h widen vfrom ridge to eai'f alternating with type B iihs,' whichl decrease in width. troni vlridge, to eaves. vrl.`he'horizontal portions of the lappen seam llaiiges are rigidly secured together by iivets'lll, and the lateral flanges l2 and'llll at the eaves ends ol' said. lapped llanges arey rigidly secured, to the body portions olf adjacent sheets by means of the rivets 8 that secure the eaves 'ends of the sheets .to the sideplates 7. y

Running 'boards l5.v are arranged .lengthwise oi" the'ear at the ridge and are securely7 bolted. Yto the upwardlyr oliiset flanges of nieta-l'running board saddles 1.6. rEhe runninoA board saddles rest `on, and are riveted tothe lapped seam flanges by means oi vthe rivets 14 that secure said flanges together. *The type'A ribs are designed to accomplish the various functions oi? a carline or lcarline ,rib with. a special importance attached tothe function of taking. care oi those yst resses that tendto rack and twistv the car-body and` distort it endwise; whereasA the type B ribs are designed with especial reference to increasingthe' vertical carrying capacity of the rooie. lt is noted that by alternatingv such ribs, the root as a whole is stronger than a roo-lt with uniform ribs each designed to take care of the same stresses. This isparticularly true becauseall the ribs are yadapted vto take care to some eXtent'o all of the several stresses. 'and because the. ribs Aare 4close enough togetherto prevent any undue concentration oit' stresses at any one point. Also, the root islof more uniform strength i'oi' the reason that for all longitudinal vertical sections the metal is the same.

lt is noted that the blank sheets, from 'which myrooi isfmade, may be oi' rectangins for cooperation with-adjacent sheets'in .tially the saine for all i through ythe roof.. through the roof, the cross-sectional area ot formingv the hollow ribs shove mentioned. is illustrated in the drawing,-oneniargin of sheet is adapted to cooperate in forininga hollow rib of type A, while the opposite margin of the same sheet isadapted to cooperate in forming a rib oi type B.

bviously vmy invention admits ot opnsiderable modification in the designs of the.y

seams or ribs and l doA not wish to be liin ited to the specilic designs illustrated. For instance7 both seam lane'es of a sheet may be oiLl the same eross-se`c ,t -.onal shape. Likewise, while the drawing illustrates the in,-

vention as embodied in a root wherein ribsr of two 'types alternata-it is obvious that the alternation might be of a rib ot one type with two or more ribs of another type( llVhat l claim is: Y n

l. A metal car roof comprisingr series poi" transverse stiflening ribs whose width Avaries from ridge to eaves, someo' said ribs Ibeing; wider at the eaves than at the ridge and otherof said ribs being wider at theridgzeI than at they eaves. I l

2. A metalv car root comprising a series ot transverse stili'ening ribs ofA greater width at the ridge than at the eaves alternatingy with other4 transverse' stifleiiing `ribs of greater width at the eaves than at the ridge.

l3. A'cargroof*comprising a plurality of metal rooic sheets connected along their side margins by raised seams,-sorne of'y said seams tapering in width from ridgeto eaves and other ot' said 'seams tapering'in VWidth from eaves to ridge. n

ll. A car roofcoinprising transversely. arranged metal roof sheets having their side margins connected together to v'form raisedroot sheets whose side margins are connected" together to form seams, said seams beingjof greater width at the ridge than at the eaves. 7. Ametal car roof comprising a series ot transverse stilening ribs of gradually*in-E` 'creasing width from ridge to eaves alternati ing with stii'le'ningribs''oflgradiiallyincreas-v ing Width from eaves to ridge,y .the crosssectional area of themetal beingsubstan,

k8. A roof sheetffor' a carroof7 said-sheet 'having a flange at one side margin Whicliiiil creases in 4width 'from ridge to eavesand a flange at its opposite'side inarginwhiich'zin'f creases in width from eaves to ridge.

9. A roof sheet'having at' each'zof its side margins an oll'set seam flange of gradually varying width, the Width oic one side `flange longitudinal sections at the ridge being substantially the same as the Width of' the opposite marginal flange at the eaves.

l0. A roof sheet having seam flanges along its side margins adapted to interlock With the seam flanges of a similar sheet to form seams, the seam flange at one side margin of a sheet being of substantially inverted L-shaped section and the seam flange at the opposite side margin of said sheet being of substantially inverted channel-shaped section.

ll. A roof sheet for a car roof', said sheet having seam flanges along its side margins adapted to interlock with the seam flanges of a similar sheet to form seams, the seam flange at one side margin of a sheet being of substantially inverted L-shaped section and the seam flange at the opposite side margin of' said sheet being of substantially inverted channel-shaped section, one of said flanges being Wider at the eaves than at the ridge and the other of said flanges being Wider at the ridge than at the eaves.

12. A car roof comprising a plurality of metal roof sheets Whose side margins are connected together to form raised seams Which vary in cross-sectional area from ridge to eaves, some of' said seams increasing in cross-sectional area from ridge to eaves and other of said seams decreasing in crosssectional area from ridge to eaves.

`13. A metal car roof comprising a series of transverse stiliening ribs Whose cross-sectional area varies from ridge to eaves, some of said ribs increasing in cross-sectional area from ridge to eaves and other of said ribs decreasing in cross-sectional area from ridge to eaves.

14.1A car roof comprising a plurality of metal roof sheets having their side margins connected together to form raised seams of greater cross-sectional area at the eaves than at the ridge alternating with other seams of' greater cross-sectional area at the ridge than at the eaves.

l5. A car roof comprising a plurality of metal roof sheets having transverse stiftening ribs of greater Width and cross-sectional area at the ridge than at the eaves.

Signed at Parnassus, Pa., this 23rd day of February, 1922.

CHARLES DAVID BONSALL. 

